Goldie Hawn, 80, reveals why she has stayed with Kurt Russell for over 40 years after she said she's 'very sexually attracted to him'

Goldie Hawn has been in a relationship with Kurt Russell for more than 40 years.

And now the Oscar-winning actress has talked to People about what keeps their romance alive - despite the fact that they have never married.

Hawn and Russell's unusual bond has been placed under a new spotlight after his Taylor Sheridan series The Madison, in which he plays a man deeply in love with his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), became a smash hit this spring.

The Hollywood icon said she liked the freedom that comes with her romance with the actor, who starred in Escape From New York.

'When I say freedom, it means liberation, I don't feel penned in,' began the mother, whose daughter is Kate Hudson.

'We don't always agree on stuff, which is fine. We're both very spontaneous. [Our relationship] fed on a lot of goodness, a lot of wonderful life together.'

The two started dating in 1983 when they filmed the movie Swing Shift, which was released a year later.

When asked what the secret is to them being together for 43 years, she told the magazine, while promoting her new children's book, that it all comes down to being 'the right match.' She added, 'As you get older, things can get harder.'  

But the Snatched actress remembers to stay positive. 'Your state of mind matters. How you look at life matters, how you value moments in your life matters, because you're feeding your own brain,' said Hawn. 'So I say, "Right now, everything is amazing."'

In January, she said that though she and Russell have never married, they continue to thrive.

She told The Dan Buettner Podcast she is 'very sexually attracted to him.' She added, 'And that's important. If you have a long-term sexual relationship, that's actually really healthy. He's my sexual object.' 

The actress, who starred in Butterflies Are Free, also said: 'I find him incredibly handsome to this day.'

And she looked up to the actor: 'I have respect for him because I think he's an amazing person.' 

It does not hurt that he is great with their combined children. 'Kids love him. We're an unbelievably happy family - most of the time… There's a cohesiveness. Why would I want anybody who is perfect? There is no such thing.' 

And she stays with him because of the sense of freedom.

'I have a relationship with birds,' said Hawn. 'I'm a bird. And you leave the cage door open, I may never fly out. But if you close that door, for my freedom and my independence, I would probably take all my feathers off.'

And knowing the cage door is open is what makes her stick close to Russell. 'It's a freedom of basically not melding into somebody else, when you're copacetic on certain areas and you have freedom,' said the actress, who also starred in Snatched.

The marriage question gets asked a lot, she said.

'Even if we did get married, it wouldn't make any difference because it's 42 years now,' noted the Foul Play actress.

In 2015, Hawn shared more secrets.

Speaking to Porter magazine, she said that marriage is not the magic ingredient to an enduring love, but rather, intention. 

'A lasting relationship isn't about marriage. It's about compatibility and communication,' said the Hollywood Squares veteran.

'And you both need to want it to work. If one person does not want it to work, it isn't going to work. Intention is the key.

'It's also about not losing yourself in each other. Being together, two pillars holding up the house and the roof, and being different, not having to agree on everything, learning how to deal with not agreeing. Everything's a choice.'

She also said caring about family is important. 

'Kurt came from three sisters and a very strong family unit. I came from one sister and two parents and a big family unit. That's what we care about,' she added.

'We talked about relationships and commonality early on. We had nannies, there's no doubt about it. We've both been working. But we were very present with our children. It's the same way we grew up. I had a working mother, Kurt did not. My mother was right there.'

The popular pair first met on-set in 1968. They were introduced on Walt Disney's The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, but it took 15 years before they became romantically involved during the production of Swing Shift in 1983.

Three years earlier, Hawn had divorced Bill Hudson, with whom she had two children - Kate and Oliver - while, around the same time, Russell was married and divorced from actress Season Hubley.

Shortly after Russell became Kate and Oliver's stepfather, while Goldie became stepmother to his son with Season, Boston. Together, they have their own son, Wyatt, who was born in 1986.

Goldie's children's book, The After-School Kindness Crew: Pooch on the Loose #1, is out on May 5.